German officials and experts in numismatics chose three different designs for their euro coins.

€1 and €2 coins: the traditional symbol of German sovereignty, the eagle, surrounded by the stars of Europe, appears on these coins. This motif was designed by Heinz and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer. Edge lettering of the €2 coin: EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT (unity, justice and freedom) and the emblem of the Federal Eagle.

10, 20 and 50-cent coins: the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of the division of Germany and its subsequent unification, is the motif used on these coins. The perspective of the design, by Reinhard Heinsdorff, emphasises the opening of the gate, stressing the unification of Germany and Europe.

1, 2 and 5-cent coins: the oak twig, reminiscent of that found on the former German pfennig coins, provides the motif for these coins. It was designed by Professor Rolf Lederbogen.

German Bundesländer series

Germany started the commemorative coin series Die 16 Bundesländer der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (The 16 States of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 2006, which will continue until 2021. The year in which the coin for a specific state is issued coincides with that state's Presidency of the Bundesrat. The coins issued are:

Year Number State Design

2006 1 Schleswig-Holstein Holstentor in Lübeck

2007 2 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Schwerin Castle

2008 3 Hamburg St. Michaelis Church

2007 coinage

Image Country Feature Volume Date

Germany Schwerin Castle (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Second of the Bundesländer series 30 million coins 2 February 2007

Description: The centre part of the coin shows a representation of Schwerin Castle. The inscription MECKLENBURG–VORPOMMERN and the engraver's initials HH appear underneath while the mint mark appears above. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin, with the year mark inscribed at the top of the outer ring.

European Union 50th Anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome

Description: The centre part of the coin shows the treaty signed by the original six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community, on a background symbolising Michelangelo's paving on the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome where the treaty was signed. The translation of EUROPE is inscribed above the book, but within the central design, whereas the translation of TREATY OF ROME 50 YEARS appears above the design

Description: The inner part of the coin shows St. Michaelis's Church in Hamburg. The name of the federal State HAMBURG is inscribed beneath the image of the church. To the left of the church are the engraver's stylised initials OE and above it towards the centre the mint mark. The outer ring has the year mark inscribed at the top, six stars on each side and below them the words BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND.

For next year 2009

Germany Ludwigskirche in Saarbrücken (Saarland)

Fourth of the Bundesländer series

2009 commonly issued coin

European Union 10th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Euro. 90 million coins 1 January 2009

The final design of the coin was chosen by electronic voting from 2008-01-31 to 2008-02-22, with the result announced on 2008-02-25. The designs were pre-selected by the national mint directors of the eurozone.

German mintings will take over Europe.

The euro has made life easier for travellers between the 12 countries that adopted the single currency a year ago. But euros appear to be more of a stay-at-home coinage than expected.

According to statistical theory, euros minted in each country - with a national image on the reverse of each coin - should spread over the whole eurozone.

Because Germany mints 40 per cent of all euro coins, academics predict that euros bearing the German eagle will predominate everywhere in the eurozone within about 20 years. But anecdotal evidence from across the eurozone suggests most euro coins have spent their first year on active duty at home.

Clara Abreu, a Portuguese schoolteacher, has been examining her change every day since the euro was introduced, in the hope of collecting a complete set from the 12 eurozone countries. She has been disappointed.

"Spanish and German coins put in regular appearances, but my change has been overwhelmingly Portuguese," she says. A few French cents have also found their way into her collection. But she has yet to set eyes on a coin from Ireland, Greece or Finland.

Ross Ivers, the finance director of Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker, says euros from Luxembourg are also hard to find. "Hugh, my eight-year-old son, is trying to collect all the coins and every time I come home from work I have to empty my pockets," he says.

George Möller, the chief operating officer for Euronext, the merged Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels stock exchange platform, found he had three Belgian and three Dutch coins in his pocket. Surprisingly, given his weekly visits to Paris, there were no French ones.

Antti Heinonen, the European Central Bank's director of banknotes, who spends most of his time in his home town of Helsinki and Frankfurt, where he works, had two coins in his pocket from Finland and the rest from Germany.

However, euros are moving most along the main tourist routes.

Paulo and Anabela Pereiera, who run a newspaper kiosk on a busy Lisbon street corner, notice a swell in the tide of Spanish euros during holiday periods, when Spanish tourists flock into Portugal. German coins are also quite frequent. A Danish euro they received stood out for its rarity.

"I remember that one of the first euros I received had the king of Spain on one side," says João Monteiro, who shines shoes outside a Lisbon café.

Since then, Spanish euros have ebbed and flowed according to the tourism seasons. He says euros from anywhere beyond Portugal, Spain, Germany and France rarely pass through his hands. Although euro coins appear not to have walked far yet, they are promoting community spirit.

"I like it when I find foreign euros because it means the Germans or French or Spanish have come to spend their money in Italy," says Bruno Mastragostino, a press officer at Italy's national statistics bureau, Istat.

German officials and experts in numismatics chose three different designs for their euro coins.

€1 and €2 coins: the traditional symbol of German sovereignty, the eagle, surrounded by the stars of Europe, appears on these coins. This motif was designed by Heinz and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer. Edge lettering of the €2 coin: EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT (unity, justice and freedom) and the emblem of the Federal Eagle.

10, 20 and 50-cent coins: the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of the division of Germany and its subsequent unification, is the motif used on these coins. The perspective of the design, by Reinhard Heinsdorff, emphasises the opening of the gate, stressing the unification of Germany and Europe.

1, 2 and 5-cent coins: the oak twig, reminiscent of that found on the former German pfennig coins, provides the motif for these coins. It was designed by Professor Rolf Lederbogen.

German Bundesländer series

Germany started the commemorative coin series Die 16 Bundesländer der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (The 16 States of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 2006, which will continue until 2021. The year in which the coin for a specific state is issued coincides with that state's Presidency of the Bundesrat. The coins issued are:

Year Number State Design

2006 1 Schleswig-Holstein Holstentor in Lübeck

2007 2 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Schwerin Castle

2008 3 Hamburg St. Michaelis Church

2007 coinage

Image Country Feature Volume Date

Germany Schwerin Castle (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Second of the Bundesländer series 30 million coins 2 February 2007

Description: The centre part of the coin shows a representation of Schwerin Castle. The inscription MECKLENBURG–VORPOMMERN and the engraver's initials HH appear underneath while the mint mark appears above. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin, with the year mark inscribed at the top of the outer ring.

European Union 50th Anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome

Description: The centre part of the coin shows the treaty signed by the original six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community, on a background symbolising Michelangelo's paving on the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome where the treaty was signed. The translation of EUROPE is inscribed above the book, but within the central design, whereas the translation of TREATY OF ROME 50 YEARS appears above the design

Description: The inner part of the coin shows St. Michaelis's Church in Hamburg. The name of the federal State HAMBURG is inscribed beneath the image of the church. To the left of the church are the engraver's stylised initials OE and above it towards the centre the mint mark. The outer ring has the year mark inscribed at the top, six stars on each side and below them the words BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND.

For next year 2009

Germany Ludwigskirche in Saarbrücken (Saarland)

Fourth of the Bundesländer series

2009 commonly issued coin

European Union 10th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Euro. 90 million coins 1 January 2009

The final design of the coin was chosen by electronic voting from 2008-01-31 to 2008-02-22, with the result announced on 2008-02-25. The designs were pre-selected by the national mint directors of the eurozone.

German mintings will take over Europe.

The euro has made life easier for travellers between the 12 countries that adopted the single currency a year ago. But euros appear to be more of a stay-at-home coinage than expected.

According to statistical theory, euros minted in each country - with a national image on the reverse of each coin - should spread over the whole eurozone.

Because Germany mints 40 per cent of all euro coins, academics predict that euros bearing the German eagle will predominate everywhere in the eurozone within about 20 years. But anecdotal evidence from across the eurozone suggests most euro coins have spent their first year on active duty at home.

Clara Abreu, a Portuguese schoolteacher, has been examining her change every day since the euro was introduced, in the hope of collecting a complete set from the 12 eurozone countries. She has been disappointed.

"Spanish and German coins put in regular appearances, but my change has been overwhelmingly Portuguese," she says. A few French cents have also found their way into her collection. But she has yet to set eyes on a coin from Ireland, Greece or Finland.

Ross Ivers, the finance director of Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker, says euros from Luxembourg are also hard to find. "Hugh, my eight-year-old son, is trying to collect all the coins and every time I come home from work I have to empty my pockets," he says.

George Möller, the chief operating officer for Euronext, the merged Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels stock exchange platform, found he had three Belgian and three Dutch coins in his pocket. Surprisingly, given his weekly visits to Paris, there were no French ones.

Antti Heinonen, the European Central Bank's director of banknotes, who spends most of his time in his home town of Helsinki and Frankfurt, where he works, had two coins in his pocket from Finland and the rest from Germany.

However, euros are moving most along the main tourist routes.

Paulo and Anabela Pereiera, who run a newspaper kiosk on a busy Lisbon street corner, notice a swell in the tide of Spanish euros during holiday periods, when Spanish tourists flock into Portugal. German coins are also quite frequent. A Danish euro they received stood out for its rarity.

"I remember that one of the first euros I received had the king of Spain on one side," says João Monteiro, who shines shoes outside a Lisbon café.

Since then, Spanish euros have ebbed and flowed according to the tourism seasons. He says euros from anywhere beyond Portugal, Spain, Germany and France rarely pass through his hands. Although euro coins appear not to have walked far yet, they are promoting community spirit.

"I like it when I find foreign euros because it means the Germans or French or Spanish have come to spend their money in Italy," says Bruno Mastragostino, a press officer at Italy's national statistics bureau, Istat.